My Favorite Things with Andrea Judy

They might not be raindrops on roses or whiskers on kittens, but that doesn’t mean that we love them any less. Welcome back to My Favorite Things, the weekly column where we grab someone in speculative circles to gab about the greatest in geek. This week, we sit down with one of our monthly contributors, Andrea Judy, who — in addition to publishing the Shadow Council series under the name Judy Black — is also writing up interpretations for the Lucky Potion Oracle.

What does Andrea love when she’s not writing about an illustrated lady with a unique ability to absorb the magic of others? Spoiler alert: a mobile game with its own tarot spin-off, a doggone fun way to play Dungeons and Dragons, and another game that captures the relaxation of Stardew Valley. Intrigued? Read on to learn more!

The Arcana: A Mystic Romance

A not-so-secret passion of mine is mobile games, since beginning a new job I’ve had less time during my commute to play on my phone but one game has risen to the top anyways. The The Arcana: A Mystic Romance is a gorgeous mobile game that features murder, magic, mystery and romance! I was immediately engulfed into the gorgeous artwork and interweaving stories of each of the characters.

Recently I ordered a set of tarot cards from the company, and they are some of the most beautiful cards I have in my collection. The gold foil details sparkle, and the cards perfectly reflect the gorgeous, lushness of the game.

The game is continuing to update with new romance options, and I am delighted to continue playing along, saving the day, finding love, and maybe solving a murder.

Animal Adventures: Tales of Dungeons and Doggies

Tabletop games, particularly Dungeons and Dragons, has become one of my favorite things in the world. Recently, I backed a Kickstarter campaign bringing a new test to the roleplaying community: the ability to play as a heroic dog.

The Kickstarter campaign included a set of cute miniature dog figures to use and a .pdf of the dog adventure, Who’ll Let the Dogs Out. We jumped into it, playing through the adventure one Saturday afternoon and had a blast. Getting to run the game where sniffing for clues, rolling for pets, and saving the day as the best dogs around was an absolute blast.

A lot of Dungeons and Dragons games can get a little heavy or dark in their content so having this dog-breath of fresh air in the game was incredible. We’re hoping to put together a full campaign with our dogs soon.

My Time at Portia

I fell in love with Stardew Valley and have played it to bits. I’ve been looking for another game that would capture the feelings and relaxation of the farm life simulator, and I’ve finally found my answer: My Time at Portia.

With beautiful graphics and a beautiful 3D world to explore, My Time at Portia matches much of the joy found in Stardew Valley. You play as a builder starting a new life in Portia, a small town filled with interesting people. You can befriend the town people, explore ancient ruins, farm, build, and more.

While slightly more complicated than Stardew Valley, it has the heart of a simple resource management game. The characters in the city are fun and the ruin and dungeon exploration adds a nice variety of play to the game.

Andrea Judy is a writer who makes her home in Atlanta, Georgia. Passionate about language, she writes in multiple genres, and has had poems and short stories appear in various literary magazines as well as in several anthologies. She also studies and writes about fandom and video games. Her first digest novel, The Bone Queen, was published in October 2013 with the sequel, Blood and Bone, out in February 2015.

You can find her online at http://www.judyblackcloud.com/

Author photo by Knotted Productions

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